Cabinet



May 25, 1937. C, F GERHARDT 2,081,328

" CABINET Filed July 30, 1932 JWM/VM? May/M Patented May 25, 1937 PATENTGFFICE CABINET Carl F. Gerhardt, Kenmore, N, Y; Application July 30,1932, lSerial No. 626,702

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of cabinets of the kind whichare particularly adapted for usein connection with refrigerators, butthis invention may be in connection with cabinets for other purposes.

The objects of this invention'a're to.pr0vide a cabinet of this kindwith an improved structure of the door and the door opening of thecabinet; also to provide an improved seal and A jamb, whereby the jambmay be made of metal without conducting heat between the .interior andouter linings or walls of the' cabinet; also to provide a cabinetconstruction of this kind, in

which shelves may be supported from the door jamb; also to provide aconstruction of this kind in which a double seal or contact is providedbei t tween the cabinet and the door gasket; also to provide an improvedconstruction for securing the parts of the outer shell on the cabinet;also to improve the construction of cabinets of this kind in otherrespects hereinafter disclosed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet embody-v l ing this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof on an enlargedscale, on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary sectional views respectively, on lines3--3 and 4-4, Fig. 1.

Eig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the construction around thedoor opening, showing the metal jamb and other parts associatedtherewith.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing as applied to arefrigerator cabinet having a door A in the front of the cabinet. If thecabinet is used yin connection with an elec,-

' tric refrigerating apparatus, the apparatus may be contained in thelower portion of the cabinet in a compartment closed at its front end bymeans of a panel'B.

The cabinet is preferably provided with the lusual wooden frameincluding upright frame members Biconnected by means of horizontal framemembers 9. These frame members sup-A port the inner andouter metalshells of the refrigerator, the inner lining or shell I0 beingl securedto the inner faces of the frame members, and theouter shell or casing ilcovering .the outer faces of 'these frame members. 'I'he space betweenthese two shells and between the frame members is filled with suitableheat insulating material, not shown; and the inner and outer shells oflthe cabinet are secured at their edges to the upright and transverseframe members B and 9 around the door opening of the refrigerator (Cl.E-9) in the usual manner, so that these edges of the metal lining orshell are kept out of contactwith each other to preventconduction ofheat from one of the shells to the other. The top of the refrigeratormay be covered by a metal panel i2 formed at its outer edges with anysuitable bead or connection I3 engaging with the outer shell of the sidewalls.

The door A may also be provided with the usual ,wooden frame i5 and anouter wooden panel I6 covered by a suitably'formed sheet of metal Il,and a lining member I8 is secured to the inner face ofthe door,preferably, tothe frame members. All of these parts of the cabinet thus'far described have heretofore been employed in connection withrefrigerators, and, of themselves, constitute no part of this invention.

In refrigerators or other cabinets of this type, the greatest amount ofwear usually occurs at the edges around the door openings, which edgesare frequently struck or rubbed by the edges of dishes or other articlesplaced into or removed from the refrigerator. It has heretofore beenimpractical to place a metal lining or wear strip around the dooropening, for the reason that such strips conductheat and cold and form ametallic connection between the inner and outer shells oftherefrigerator which would result in conducting cold from the inner to theouter shell, causing moisture from the surrounding air to condense onthe outer shell adjacent to the door opening.

Inaccordance with this invention, Iv provide a metal jamb 2li around thedoor opening, and preferably this metal jarnb is substantially ofchannel shape having the free edges extending outwardly or toward theframe work surrounding the door opening', to present a relatively smoothrounded surface around the door opening, as clearly shown in Figs.2, 3and 5. I also provide means for keeping the edge portions of the metaljamb outv of direct contact with the inner and outer shells of thecabinet, and for this purpose. heat insulating means are interposedbetween the inner and outer metal shells and the door jamb. In theconstruction shown for this purpose, a heat insulating strip '2| isprovided which may be made of rubber or other suitable material havinglow heat conductivity. In the particular construction shown, theinsulating strip 2| extends across the gap or space between the edges'of the inner shell I0 and outer shells ",41, and 48, which are securedtothe frame members andl 9, but `it will be understood that theinsulating member 2l maybe in tween the edge of the inner lining -IIIand the leg 22 of the channel-shaped lamb 20, and the other partinterposed between the edge of the outer shell I I and the leg or flange28 of the jamb. It is also posisble to omit entirely the heat insulationbetween the inner leg 22 of the jamb and the inner shell or lining III,so long as the outer leg or flange 23 of the jamb is insulated from theouter shell Il.

The jamb 20 may be secured in place in any suitable or desired manner,for example, by means of wood screws 25 extending through countersunkholes in the jamb and into the wooden frame members 8 and 9 between theedges of the inner and outer metal shells. In this way, both the jamband the insulating means are held in place by means of the screws 25.

In order to form a tight seal between the door and the portion of theframe of the cabinet around the door opening, the outer edge of theinsulating member is preferably provided with a bead or enlargedportion28 which extends beyond the flange 23 of the :lamb and the front wall ofthe refrigerator. 'I'his bead is adapted to cooperate With a door gasket29 which may be secured to the door in any suitable or usual manner, andwhich is arranged to contact with the bead 28 of the insulating member2| as well as with the front wall of the refrigerator, thus forming adouble seal to prevent leakage of air through the door opening and sealsthe food chamber against odors originating in the insulation andframework. The gasket 29 may be of any suitable or usual construction,such, for example, as a strip of sponge rubber surrounded or enclosed byrubberized fabric. The edges 20 of the fabric may be held in place bythe edge portions of the inner lining member I8 of the door.

The metal Jamb serves the further purpose of supporting the shelves 38of the refrigerator. In most refrigerators now on the market. theshelves are not adjustable relatively to each other, for the reason thatsuch adjustment would require either a plurality of apertures in theinner lining i0 of the cabinet, or else separate shelf supportingstandards or posts within the cabinet, which would take up space andwhich would be dimcult to clean. By providing apertures in the door jambitself, deterioration of the insulation of the cabinet would not result,since moisture or other substances cannot pass from the interior of thejamb to the insulating lining of the refrigerator.

Consequently, the inner legs 22 of the two upright portions of the jamb29 may be provided with suitable slits or apertures 40 with whichsuitable shelf supporting brackets 4| may engage. 'Ihese brackets may beof suitable construction, those shown each including a hookshaped part42 which forms a continuation of the upper surface of the bracket, andwhich may enter into an aperture 40 of the jamb. Each bracket also has adownwardly projecting part or leg 43 terminating in a projection 44arranged to enter into the next lower slot 40 of the jamb. Thesebrackets, of themselves, do not constitute a part of my invention, andadjustable brackets of any other kind may be employed in connection withthe apertures in the door jamb. At the rear portions of the shelves,similar supporting brackets may be employed which cooperate with theusual standards or upright posts arranged within the cabinet. By meansof this construction, the shelves may be adjusted vertically to suit theuser of the cabinet without two parts, one of these parts beinginterposed beproviding in the front portion of the cabinet any structurewhich would be difllcult'to keep clean, or which would form anobstruction in the interior of the cabinet. l

In forming the outer metalshell or casing for the cabinet, the metal isbent to extend from the sides of the cabinet across the front thereof,as far as the door openings, forming upright metal panels 45 on oppositesides 0f the cabinet in Fis.

1. The greater part of the front of the cabinetJ 'I'he panel 4l alongits upper edge is overhung y by the over-turned edge portion of the topcover i 2 of the cabinet, and the lower edge is turned inwardly over thelower edge of the horizontal frame member 9. as indicated at 48.Consequently, the jamb 20 also serves to hold this lower edge in correctrelation to the frame of the cabinet.

The lower panel 4l may be secured in place by fastening the upper andlower edges thereof to a cross member of the frame in a similar manneras the lower edge 4l of the panel 41 is secured to the frame member 9.

In the case of both of these members, it is desirable to form a neatappearing and effective joint between the ends of these panels and thefront faces 45 of the shell of the cabinet. In order to accomplish thiswithout the use of iinishing strips or other forms of Joints. I havefound that a very eective connection between these two parts can beformed by bending over the ends of the panels 4l and 4l. as indicated inFig. 4, by turning back upon itself the end portions 49 of these panels.and preferably the doubled-over ends are then offset with reference tothe panels by means of the inclined or bevelled portions 50 of thepanels. By means of this construction, the cut edges of the metal arebent under, so that they are not exposed on the exterior of the cabinetand the ends of the panel are reinforced by the doubling-over of themetal. The beads further reinforce the panels so that they will not tendto bend or buckle lengthwise of the panels. Other means for forming thispart of the outer shell of the cabinet may, of course, be employed, ifdesired.

The cabinet described has the arvantage that the metal jamb in the dooropening serves not only to hold adjacent portions of the cabinet invcorrect relation to the frame work, but also prevents scratching ordamage to the usual lining l of the door opening. The Jamb membersdescribed are arranged so that they do not conduct heat inwardly fromthe outer shell of the cabinet, and these members have the additionaladvantage of being usable to adjustably support shelves in the cabinet.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cabinet having a door opening, an outer shell having an edgeportion extending into said door opening, a strip of insulating materialin said door opening and covering said edge portion and having a portionforming a projection extending beyond the outer surface of said outershell around said door opening, a door for closing said door opening,and a seal of flexible material secured to said door and arranged toengage both with said outer shell and with said projection to form adouble seal between said door and cabinet.

2. A cabinet having a door opening, an outer shell extending to saiddoor opening, a Strip of insulating material in said door openingcovering the edge of said outer shell, a member exposed to thetemperature of the interior of said cabi net and having a part engagingsaid strip of material in said door opening, said strip forming aninsulation between said member and said shell, a door for closing saiddoor opening, and a seal of flexible material secured to said door andarranged to engage both with said outer shell and with said insulatingstrip to form a double seal between said door and cabinet.

3. A cabinet having a door opening, an outer shell extending to saiddoor opening, a strip of insulating material in said door openingcovering the edge of said outer shell and having a portion thereofexposed at the edge of said door opening, a member exposed to thetemperature of the interior of said cabinet and having a part engagingsaid strip of material in said door opening for holding the same inplace between said member and said outer shell, said strip forming aninsulation between said member and said shell, a door for closing saiddoor opening. and an insulating seal of flexible material secured tosaid door and arranged to engage said exposed portion of said strip toform a seal between said door and said cabinet.

CARL F. GER. 1

